But buying a copy of Word, Dreamweaver, Cakewalk, Photoshop etc. IS the way to become a writer, web designer, musician, graphic artist. The tools don't matter, it's the drive and commitment to 'your art'. Sure, these people may not be good at first, but that's how you become one. You say, "I'm going to be a writer." You do it. And keep doing it.
You tell the people who say, "Har Har, don't quit yer day job!" to shove it. You listen to construtive critisism. (You'll know it when you hear it.)
You do it even when you think you suck. Because that's the only way you get better, and you couldn't imagine yourself doing anything else. You might even say that these 'careers' choose you, because no one would be crazy enough to *want* to be an artist or musician. (If you are, you know what I'm talking about.)
Plenty never get better, give up, move on, take disparaging remarks too personally, or just don't have the talent.
Closer to home, going to school for programming doesn't make you a programmer, programming does - at least that's what a zillion/.ers insist when the question is raised. As far as my personal experience, I'm a musician because I say so. I'm a graphic artist because I want to be one. I've recorded a number of records, played in front of thousands of people and published two #1 books (in my 'day job' industry).
No school. No training. Just doing it because I want to. And I love it. And I can't *not* do it.
Horrible or great, that's how we get writers, designers, programmers, musicians and artists.
Re:I don't think it will ever be like in the movie
on
Mind Over Machine
·
· Score: 1
So have a bluetooth button or footswitch to hold down when you want the computer to pay attention to what you are thinking. Automatic after some adjustment (like driving or a video game)
Just like the Mac's speech recognition - you hit a button, then give the spoken command. That way you don't have the computer searching through your drives for your 'goddamn pen'.
(What follows is offtopic, redundant, trollish flambait. Mod away.)
'Ignorance of the law is no excuse.' I had that quoted at me by a judge long ago (I was 18, and had a *lot* of speeding tickets).
Is there anyone out there who could rattle off every law we have on the books?
I am often fond of saying, "You break the law as soon as you wake up in the morning." I can't think of *anyone* I have *ever* known in my entire life that hasn't broken a law at least once a day. (Those who are in comas need not apply)
Take your car. You have a air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror? That's reason enough for a cop to pull you over - obstructing your view. Driving to work? Did you signal every turn? Did you look both ways? Is your gas door open? (I got pulled over for this.)
Your computer. How many have at least one mp3 or software program you 'shouldn't' have? Copyright infringement.
Coding software? You've probably run into a software patent and don't even know it.
Bought cigs for your kid brother? Spank your child in public? Pee on the side of the road? Stole a pencil from work? Ate a piece of candy from the bin at the grocery store? Have a garage sale without a permit? Give false information on your taxes? Walk across the middle of a street? Litter? Give someone the finger?
Granted, lots of this stuff is just rude behavior, and some of it isn't illegal where you may live, but who can possibly know all the laws on the books at any one time? God forbid you travel to another state and have to do two weeks of research in order to make it to the other side.
People will decide that they have no choice. Ignore it. Why bother? Everything you do is illegal, and moreso every day. Corporations ignore the law, and when caught, ignore the punishment. Politicans are making more laws all the time, yet are largely above the law.
I'd love to say that freedom for the US will be decided this November 2nd, but I know better, and I wish more people did too.
I'm going to patent Apathy! That way, when people complain about how nothing is being done, I can sue them for not doing anything themselves, like writing their congresswhores, or donating money to the EFF, or boycotting companies that use patent litigation as a business model.
Now if I could only...get out of this....chair......ah, fuckit.
There are lots of people out there who can design an attractive interface, and lots of people who can design a informative one. There are also people out there who can't do either.
Why isn't the OSS community looking at those with proven interfaces? Apple, of course comes right to mind, as well as BeOS.
The thing is, programmers could have all the graphic designers working on their projects that they needed - IF the graphic designers had a way of creating a GUI without having to learn some new esoteric scripting language!
Do I (as a graphic artist and layout guy) expect a programmer to:
1) Come up with a fantastic, beautiful, informative interface to their software?
2) Spend a year on the GIMP or Photoshop or Illustrator to learn how to make one?
3) Understand that the super-cool lens-flare skull with glowing eyes might be a cool T-shirt for a poor high school metal band, and not for the interface to his software?
No. Just like I'm not going to learn the ins and outs of C, ruby, python, perl, etc. I don't want to. I'm good at what I do. I'm good at what I know. I'm getting better at the things that interest me.
Listen. Make it easy for artists to submit interfaces. A plugin. A skinner. A template. I don't know, IANAProgrammer. I do know that I was able to build an interface in 5 minutes with Apple's tools. Again, I know NOTHING about programming.
The point I'm making is this: You (the programmer) make it possible (read: easy) for me (the artist) to make visual GUI changes, and I'll do it! For nothing! We like to do stuff like this!. Make it possible and together we can get this linux thing on everyone's desktop.
Continue to avoid/ignore/and deny this issue, and it'll be a short time to Longhorn, which from what I've seen, has the worst Winamp skinners already sewn up.
Led by a former Bush official, and made up of companies that are under direct threat of having their business drastically changed by Microsoft and OSS.
Oooh! I can't wait to see what kind of wacky, Orwellian, DRM-filled, DMCA protected bills they will try and shove down our throats with their big money lobbying powers.
Perhaps they'll decide that Microsoft is the reason for the (security) season and we'll get some anti-anti-trust laws in there.
OT- what the hell happened to the comment list in the user tab? Did I just eat a mushroom?
Why is the tool palette a huge box rather than the double row that is basically standard in ever other app? (Granted, the double row palette is Adobe all the way)
I don't understand why anyone would want a box covering the very thing they're working on. Is there some option to make it that way, or customize it - say 'Adobe 7' or 'Corel 4.5' profiles?
I use Photoshop more than 10 hours a day - if Gimp wants users, it should make it easy for Photoshop users to migrate with as little adjustment as possible. Why would I want to throw my years of PS experience away? Adjustment is necessary, but not full-blown re-education.
Elwood P Dowd, I am suing you for sampling my recent post. Oh sure, you may say that the words 'Beastie Boys' and paraphrasing their 'inabillity to pay to make Paul's Boutique today' are fair use, but my lawyers and I 'think differently.'
I love to (hobby) and (hobby2) when I'm not running my (business) company. I use (vaporwareproduct) to manage my (business) and its (businessinformation).
I find that (vaporwareproduct) lets me (e-action) and (e-action2) while (e-action3). The (hardwarespec) allows me to store (information) while the (hardwarespec2) makes for fast (e-action4).
My (vaporwareproduct) helps me keep it all together, thanks to its (hardwarespec3) and (hardwarespec4). My productivity has increased, since I don't have to carry around (competingproduct), (competingproduct2) and (competingproduct3).
Thanks (companyname)! (vaporwareproduct) is tailored just for me!
Perhaps the FBI is installing some evil logger/sniffer crap on the servers or some hidden hardware. Or perhaps I need to watch more episodes of the Lone Gunmen.
I'm surprised that there hasn't been any discussion of Magic Lantern for awhile...
From their site - don't forget to let the FBI know what you think! rwhite3@leo.gov
02/23/2004 CIT re-establishes service.
We have restored service at Equinix's Chicago Data Centers. We are in the same facilities as MSN and many fortune 500 companies. The facility has multi OC192 connections to the backbone.
The FBI has begun retuning equipment to CIT which is being shipped to our new facilities in Chicago. At this time CIT will continue to provide dedicated DDOS Protected web hosting only.
CIT provides reliable and scalable solutions for customers of all sizes and services. Located in Equinix's Chicago Data Centers , CIT has access to all the major carriers without the need for local loop circuits.
Our Chicago staff is focused first and foremost on customer satisfaction, and will take every action necessary to accommodate each customer. Unlike many large ISPs, CIT prides itself in its ability to provide personalized service to each customer - if a customer calls twice for assistance, they can usually speak to the same representative. Our sales and support teams are allowed a great deal of flexibility to work together to resolve each customer's needs on an individual basis. Our success and rapid growth can be attributed to the satisfaction of our customers - word-of-mouth referrals account for a large portion of the new business we receive each month.
The IRC Network will remain down until further notice.
02/14/2004 FBI Confiscates all servers
Dear Customers of FOONET/CIT:
We regret to inform you that on Saturday February 14, 2004 at approximately 8:35 am EST, FOONET/CIT's data center in Columbus, Ohio temporarily ceased operations.
Here are the facts of what occurred:
The FBI executed a search warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio regarding the IRC network that we host. According to the warrant, it appears that the Bureau is investigating whether someone hosted on our network hacked and attacked someone else.
After several hours of attempting to track down, inspect and audit the terabytes of data that we host, the FBI determined that it was more efficient (from their point of view) to remove all of our servers and transport them to the FBI local laboratories for inspection. This was completed at 7:00 pm EST same day.
The FBI has assured us that as soon as the data has been safely copied and inspected, the equipment will be promptly returned. Unfortunately, the FBI has not been able to tell us when they will be completed with their inspection.
We have been told by the Special Agent in charge of the investigation that If you need access to your data you are asked to please contact the Bureau via email to rwhite3@leo.gov. Make sure to include in your email your name, mailing address, and telephone number with area code.
Since we wish to focus 100% of our efforts on restoring services, we would appreciate it very much if you do not attempt to contact us directly. Please rest assured that we are doing everything possible to restore service to you as quickly as possible. To the many who have inquired, Paul and family are OK, although shaken by these events. They are at home and awaiting the blessed event of their new child's birth. We thank you for your good wishes and prayers.
Please check back here often. Through this site, we will keep you informed of ongoing developments as we know them.
I got trained for two days at Minneapolis' CompUSA. Then I was thrown out on the floor. At first, I had to read the boxes, just like your current favorites at Best Buy and Fry's. After awhile I remembered the crap on the sides of the box, so I could give a convincing run down of features.
Soon, manglement decided that since they couldn't get the onhand inventory to match, they would give several of us cordless phones and have us field the 'pricing and availability' calls to the store. This was running around the store and checking to see if the product was actually there, and actually 9.95 - on top of trying to help people who had decided to physically come to the store and perhaps buy something.
The best part was when you were telling someone about an expensive piece of hardware and some call comes in (we weren't allowed to ignore calls) for the price of a printer cable, or if we have the '20 CDs for 20 bucks' deal in.
I had one guy go off and scream at me, to which I responded, "Please go back there and talk to Rick. He's the boss. I am doing the job(S) he gave me. Tell him he's a fucking moron." He responded, "YOU'RE THE FUCKING MORON" and stormed out.
I tried to tell the boss what bad service this was causing, and he said, "You need to try harder." Grrr.
About three weeks later, the phones disappeared, and I was back to software. And hardware!
At this time, I didn't own a computer of any sort, as they were unattainable on my hourly rate. And here I am trying to sell them. Ugh. I gave up my fakery and lies. I became a 'troublemaker'. If I didn't know if software did a certain something, I would crack the box and read the manual (this was discouraged) even if it was for my own education. If someone wanted a telphone, fax machine, or sound card, I told them that the 'extended warranty' was a ripoff.
I became well versed in the Mac line we carried, and sold a lot of them because I liked them, and they were easy for the customer to demo themselves.
People seemed to like my honesty. And I learned more about selling, and sold more than lots of smarmy 'say-anythings' there, because I only sold the stuff I knew, and liked. Of course, I quit not long after for other reasons. After that, I was well on my way to knowing my stuff, and built my first computer out of Salvation Army parts.
Oh, lots of retail stories came out of that evil place...
Wow. Not that I thought for a moment that it wasn't going to happen - here you are again with your power-trip plans.
I really don't appreciate this.
Although September 11th was scary, and a wake-up call (to whom, I'll let you decide), you certainly have taken the ball and run with it.
From control of the media, to your obvious relationships with big business, you're feeling pretty good right now, I'll bet. Hell, you barely try and hide controversial projects now; really who's going to stop you? Voter turnout is a joke, and even if people showed up, there's not really a guarrantee that the results haven't been tampered with.
The 'war on terror' is just amazing. So much can be rationalized for 'safety's sake'. Who's un-american this week? Who's a potential threat? Who stands against freedom?
I'm sure you will provide the answers to these questions from your bully pulpit, from newspapers and television that run whatever is put in front of them.
Frankly, terrorists don't scare me. You do.
That's right, my very own government. You've declared war. Not on terror, but on privacy, civil and human rights, and freedom.
Washington? Are you listening? When did rampant wiretapping, invading library records and putting gag orders on librarians, installing keyloggers on our computers, and treating every citizen like a criminal become the definition of freedom?
I'd sure like an answer, Washington, because it sounds like you have it in for me, as well as everyone else who lives here - in the most free nation on earth. For now.
I don't have any 'certs', but I would be interested to see how I'd do on one of these tests. Are these tests posted somewhere (old and or free)?
I don't plan on trying to get certified - like I need more crap to do, but I would love to know if I can take down a MCE and make him cry, beyond emailing him a bitmap.
13 bucks is the people winning? That's like saying 2 days in prison for rape and murder is the victim getting justice.
There were NO geeks at work here. Just a bunch of lawyers, who got what they came for. 13 dollars is what you got if you bought 5 CDs or 5000. That's winning?
Please, do the minimum amount of research before you post. This is not your blog.
I could have sworn one optometrist i went to a few years ago had a machine that automatcially brought an image into focus for me. Way cooler than this stone-age notion of looking at the eye chart as the "doctor" flips lenses. Which one is clearer, one or two. Why do we keep doing this stone age crap?
Are you sure you wern't abducted by aliens? Check the back of your neck for implants, and your ass for an antenna. Sure signs.
REPOST WHORE
on
Brine on Mars?
·
· Score: 5, Informative
I still have to be a circus contortionist to punch in numbers with one hand. I still get play and pause mixed up; couldn't that be one button?
My biggest issues with my rather new Direct TV tivo are as follows:
The guide is sloooooowwwww. Way slower than the old RCA vanilla reciever.
I can't filter out the channels I don't get, and have no interest in nearly as easily as the old reciever did. The RCA would automatically go through the list; any channels I didn't subscribe to would be removed from the list. I could also scroll through and *see* the channel (Bye bye, Home Shopping networks!) that I was deleting - no trying to decipher the 3 letter acronyms. I was done in 3 minutes with the RCA; with the Tivo, I'd better set an evening aside.
The tivo is recording shows I might like to watch on channels I don't get! Great movie, Tivo! I love the way you mock my poverty by recording two hours of black screen!
No use for the USB ports on the back. I was all excited thinking I could dump some shows right to my Powerbook and burn some DVDs. Nope. Sure I can record to VCR, but why? It's sooo 1995.
No Home Media Option as of yet for Direct TV PVRs. Not that I can't do this with the old PB, but I feel like I'm being shorted. (See previous point)
The remote is far and away the best one I have, but I still need other crappy ones to control stupid features on my TV, Sterio, and VCR.
The first company to devise a 'middleman' remote that waits for a 3 digit code from my tivo remote, then shunts further remote functions to my chosen equip is going to get my money. It could be programmed with the 'left out' functions of all my other remotes (PiP on my 97 Magnavox TV, for instance), then I could put them in a drawer somewhere and forget about them 'till garage sale time.
No reason I can't learn key combos - you have to in order to play any video game these days. Perhaps when I select the VCR it can scream "FATALLITY!" at me.
Slashdot Mirror
But buying a copy of Word, Dreamweaver, Cakewalk, Photoshop etc. IS the way to become a writer, web designer, musician, graphic artist. The tools don't matter, it's the drive and commitment to 'your art'. Sure, these people may not be good at first, but that's how you become one. You say, "I'm going to be a writer." You do it. And keep doing it.
You tell the people who say, "Har Har, don't quit yer day job!" to shove it. You listen to construtive critisism. (You'll know it when you hear it.)
You do it even when you think you suck. Because that's the only way you get better, and you couldn't imagine yourself doing anything else. You might even say that these 'careers' choose you, because no one would be crazy enough to *want* to be an artist or musician. (If you are, you know what I'm talking about.)
Plenty never get better, give up, move on, take disparaging remarks too personally, or just don't have the talent.
Closer to home, going to school for programming doesn't make you a programmer, programming does - at least that's what a zillion /.ers insist when the question is raised. As far as my personal experience, I'm a musician because I say so. I'm a graphic artist because I want to be one. I've recorded a number of records, played in front of thousands of people and published two #1 books (in my 'day job' industry).
No school. No training. Just doing it because I want to. And I love it. And I can't *not* do it.
Horrible or great, that's how we get writers, designers, programmers, musicians and artists.
Just like the Mac's speech recognition - you hit a button, then give the spoken command. That way you don't have the computer searching through your drives for your 'goddamn pen'.
'Ignorance of the law is no excuse.' I had that quoted at me by a judge long ago (I was 18, and had a *lot* of speeding tickets).
Is there anyone out there who could rattle off every law we have on the books?
I am often fond of saying, "You break the law as soon as you wake up in the morning." I can't think of *anyone* I have *ever* known in my entire life that hasn't broken a law at least once a day. (Those who are in comas need not apply)
Take your car. You have a air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror? That's reason enough for a cop to pull you over - obstructing your view. Driving to work? Did you signal every turn? Did you look both ways? Is your gas door open? (I got pulled over for this.)
Your computer. How many have at least one mp3 or software program you 'shouldn't' have? Copyright infringement. Coding software? You've probably run into a software patent and don't even know it. Bought cigs for your kid brother? Spank your child in public? Pee on the side of the road? Stole a pencil from work? Ate a piece of candy from the bin at the grocery store? Have a garage sale without a permit? Give false information on your taxes? Walk across the middle of a street? Litter? Give someone the finger?
Granted, lots of this stuff is just rude behavior, and some of it isn't illegal where you may live, but who can possibly know all the laws on the books at any one time? God forbid you travel to another state and have to do two weeks of research in order to make it to the other side.
People will decide that they have no choice. Ignore it. Why bother? Everything you do is illegal, and moreso every day. Corporations ignore the law, and when caught, ignore the punishment. Politicans are making more laws all the time, yet are largely above the law.
I'd love to say that freedom for the US will be decided this November 2nd, but I know better, and I wish more people did too.
Now if I could only...get out of this....chair......ah, fuckit.
Wow! I'm making money already!
Why isn't the OSS community looking at those with proven interfaces? Apple, of course comes right to mind, as well as BeOS. The thing is, programmers could have all the graphic designers working on their projects that they needed - IF the graphic designers had a way of creating a GUI without having to learn some new esoteric scripting language!
Do I (as a graphic artist and layout guy) expect a programmer to:
1) Come up with a fantastic, beautiful, informative interface to their software?
2) Spend a year on the GIMP or Photoshop or Illustrator to learn how to make one?
3) Understand that the super-cool lens-flare skull with glowing eyes might be a cool T-shirt for a poor high school metal band, and not for the interface to his software?
No. Just like I'm not going to learn the ins and outs of C, ruby, python, perl, etc. I don't want to. I'm good at what I do. I'm good at what I know. I'm getting better at the things that interest me.
Listen. Make it easy for artists to submit interfaces. A plugin. A skinner. A template. I don't know, IANAProgrammer. I do know that I was able to build an interface in 5 minutes with Apple's tools. Again, I know NOTHING about programming.
The point I'm making is this: You (the programmer) make it possible (read: easy) for me (the artist) to make visual GUI changes, and I'll do it! For nothing! We like to do stuff like this!. Make it possible and together we can get this linux thing on everyone's desktop.
Continue to avoid/ignore/and deny this issue, and it'll be a short time to Longhorn, which from what I've seen, has the worst Winamp skinners already sewn up.
Oooh! I can't wait to see what kind of wacky, Orwellian, DRM-filled, DMCA protected bills they will try and shove down our throats with their big money lobbying powers.
Perhaps they'll decide that Microsoft is the reason for the (security) season and we'll get some anti-anti-trust laws in there.
OT- what the hell happened to the comment list in the user tab? Did I just eat a mushroom?
I don't understand why anyone would want a box covering the very thing they're working on. Is there some option to make it that way, or customize it - say 'Adobe 7' or 'Corel 4.5' profiles?
I use Photoshop more than 10 hours a day - if Gimp wants users, it should make it easy for Photoshop users to migrate with as little adjustment as possible. Why would I want to throw my years of PS experience away? Adjustment is necessary, but not full-blown re-education.
It looks pretty easy to make, albeit rather narrow use? Very interesting. That whole site should be required reading for /.ers. ;)
There's a 'Pink Factor' joke to be made here, but I won't be the one to make it.
I find that (vaporwareproduct) lets me (e-action) and (e-action2) while (e-action3). The (hardwarespec) allows me to store (information) while the (hardwarespec2) makes for fast (e-action4).
My (vaporwareproduct) helps me keep it all together, thanks to its (hardwarespec3) and (hardwarespec4). My productivity has increased, since I don't have to carry around (competingproduct), (competingproduct2) and (competingproduct3).
Thanks (companyname)! (vaporwareproduct) is tailored just for me!
Not to mention you could've just used a box of floppies to copy the hard drives.
I'm surprised that there hasn't been any discussion of Magic Lantern for awhile...
From their site - don't forget to let the FBI know what you think! rwhite3@leo.gov
02/23/2004 CIT re-establishes service.
We have restored service at Equinix's Chicago Data Centers. We are in the same facilities as MSN and many fortune 500 companies. The facility has multi OC192 connections to the backbone.
The FBI has begun retuning equipment to CIT which is being shipped to our new facilities in Chicago.
At this time CIT will continue to provide dedicated DDOS Protected web hosting only.
CIT provides reliable and scalable solutions for customers of all sizes and services. Located in Equinix's Chicago Data Centers , CIT has access to all the major carriers without the need for local loop circuits.
Our Chicago staff is focused first and foremost on customer satisfaction, and will take every action necessary to accommodate each customer. Unlike many large ISPs, CIT prides itself in its ability to provide personalized service to each customer - if a customer calls twice for assistance, they can usually speak to the same representative. Our sales and support teams are allowed a great deal of flexibility to work together to resolve each customer's needs on an individual basis. Our success and rapid growth can be attributed to the satisfaction of our customers - word-of-mouth referrals account for a large portion of the new business we receive each month.
The IRC Network will remain down until further notice.
02/14/2004 FBI Confiscates all servers
Dear Customers of FOONET/CIT:
We regret to inform you that on Saturday February 14, 2004 at approximately 8:35 am EST, FOONET/CIT's data center in Columbus, Ohio temporarily ceased operations.
Here are the facts of what occurred:
The FBI executed a search warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio regarding the IRC network that we host. According to the warrant, it appears that the Bureau is investigating whether someone hosted on our network hacked and attacked someone else.
After several hours of attempting to track down, inspect and audit the terabytes of data that we host, the FBI determined that it was more efficient (from their point of view) to remove all of our servers and transport them to the FBI local laboratories for inspection. This was completed at 7:00 pm EST same day.
The FBI has assured us that as soon as the data has been safely copied and inspected, the equipment will be promptly returned. Unfortunately, the FBI has not been able to tell us when they will be completed with their inspection.
We have been told by the Special Agent in charge of the investigation that If you need access to your data you are asked to please contact the Bureau via email to rwhite3@leo.gov. Make sure to include in your email your name, mailing address, and telephone number with area code.
Since we wish to focus 100% of our efforts on restoring services, we would appreciate it very much if you do not attempt to contact us directly. Please rest assured that we are doing everything possible to restore service to you as quickly as possible.
To the many who have inquired, Paul and family are OK, although shaken by these events. They are at home and awaiting the blessed event of their new child's birth. We thank you for your good wishes and prayers.
Please check back here often. Through this site, we will keep you informed of ongoing developments as we know them.
Thanks again for your understanding.
In fact, a good sized asteriod could clear up a lot of this country's problems in a snap!
Look out congresswhores! Mama needs a new box a' cooties, and she is mad!
Soon, manglement decided that since they couldn't get the onhand inventory to match, they would give several of us cordless phones and have us field the 'pricing and availability' calls to the store. This was running around the store and checking to see if the product was actually there, and actually 9.95 - on top of trying to help people who had decided to physically come to the store and perhaps buy something.
The best part was when you were telling someone about an expensive piece of hardware and some call comes in (we weren't allowed to ignore calls) for the price of a printer cable, or if we have the '20 CDs for 20 bucks' deal in.
I had one guy go off and scream at me, to which I responded, "Please go back there and talk to Rick. He's the boss. I am doing the job(S) he gave me. Tell him he's a fucking moron." He responded, "YOU'RE THE FUCKING MORON" and stormed out.
I tried to tell the boss what bad service this was causing, and he said, "You need to try harder." Grrr.
About three weeks later, the phones disappeared, and I was back to software. And hardware!
At this time, I didn't own a computer of any sort, as they were unattainable on my hourly rate. And here I am trying to sell them. Ugh. I gave up my fakery and lies. I became a 'troublemaker'. If I didn't know if software did a certain something, I would crack the box and read the manual (this was discouraged) even if it was for my own education. If someone wanted a telphone, fax machine, or sound card, I told them that the 'extended warranty' was a ripoff.
I became well versed in the Mac line we carried, and sold a lot of them because I liked them, and they were easy for the customer to demo themselves.
People seemed to like my honesty. And I learned more about selling, and sold more than lots of smarmy 'say-anythings' there, because I only sold the stuff I knew, and liked. Of course, I quit not long after for other reasons. After that, I was well on my way to knowing my stuff, and built my first computer out of Salvation Army parts.
Oh, lots of retail stories came out of that evil place...
I really don't appreciate this.
Although September 11th was scary, and a wake-up call (to whom, I'll let you decide), you certainly have taken the ball and run with it.
From control of the media, to your obvious relationships with big business, you're feeling pretty good right now, I'll bet. Hell, you barely try and hide controversial projects now; really who's going to stop you? Voter turnout is a joke, and even if people showed up, there's not really a guarrantee that the results haven't been tampered with.
The 'war on terror' is just amazing. So much can be rationalized for 'safety's sake'. Who's un-american this week? Who's a potential threat? Who stands against freedom?
I'm sure you will provide the answers to these questions from your bully pulpit, from newspapers and television that run whatever is put in front of them.
Frankly, terrorists don't scare me. You do.
That's right, my very own government. You've declared war. Not on terror, but on privacy, civil and human rights, and freedom.
Washington? Are you listening? When did rampant wiretapping, invading library records and putting gag orders on librarians, installing keyloggers on our computers, and treating every citizen like a criminal become the definition of freedom?
I'd sure like an answer, Washington, because it sounds like you have it in for me, as well as everyone else who lives here - in the most free nation on earth. For now.
Sincerely,
teamhasnoi
Happy are times
when posts are not strange funny!
Score, it becomes two!
I am so moving to slashdot.jp ;)
I don't plan on trying to get certified - like I need more crap to do, but I would love to know if I can take down a MCE and make him cry, beyond emailing him a bitmap.
There were NO geeks at work here. Just a bunch of lawyers, who got what they came for. 13 dollars is what you got if you bought 5 CDs or 5000. That's winning?
Please, do the minimum amount of research before you post. This is not your blog.
Here's his first glasses prototype! Welcome back to the eighties! ;)
Very tasteful styles, though.
Are you sure you wern't abducted by aliens? Check the back of your neck for implants, and your ass for an antenna. Sure signs.
No need to thank me, just not doing my (real) job.
My biggest issues with my rather new Direct TV tivo are as follows:
The guide is sloooooowwwww. Way slower than the old RCA vanilla reciever.
I can't filter out the channels I don't get, and have no interest in nearly as easily as the old reciever did. The RCA would automatically go through the list; any channels I didn't subscribe to would be removed from the list. I could also scroll through and *see* the channel (Bye bye, Home Shopping networks!) that I was deleting - no trying to decipher the 3 letter acronyms. I was done in 3 minutes with the RCA; with the Tivo, I'd better set an evening aside.
The tivo is recording shows I might like to watch on channels I don't get! Great movie, Tivo! I love the way you mock my poverty by recording two hours of black screen!
No use for the USB ports on the back. I was all excited thinking I could dump some shows right to my Powerbook and burn some DVDs. Nope. Sure I can record to VCR, but why? It's sooo 1995.
No Home Media Option as of yet for Direct TV PVRs. Not that I can't do this with the old PB, but I feel like I'm being shorted. (See previous point)
The remote is far and away the best one I have, but I still need other crappy ones to control stupid features on my TV, Sterio, and VCR.
The first company to devise a 'middleman' remote that waits for a 3 digit code from my tivo remote, then shunts further remote functions to my chosen equip is going to get my money. It could be programmed with the 'left out' functions of all my other remotes (PiP on my 97 Magnavox TV, for instance), then I could put them in a drawer somewhere and forget about them 'till garage sale time.
No reason I can't learn key combos - you have to in order to play any video game these days. Perhaps when I select the VCR it can scream "FATALLITY!" at me.